Good and Cheap Eats

Although this isn't a food blog, we here at the House of Nod do love our eats.

That's why I'm excited about this link my brother shared with me called Good and Cheap: a SNAP Cookbook by Leanne Brown. She compiled this wonderful little booklet as a final project for a master's degree in food studies at New York University.

Although it is aimed at those who might be on public assistance, this humdinger of a collection will work just as well for those of us with large families who need to stretch a dollar. Or just anybody who loves great tasting food.

This is an example of someone taking a thing they love and sharing it with those who most need it. I don't know Leanne, her politics, her religion, or her motivation. But it is certainly a praiseworthy thing and one that deserves to be shared.

Leanne writes:

Cooking skill, not budget is the key to unlocking great

food. Everyone has the right to good cooking, regardless

of income. 

The recipes in this collection are lovingly

designed and paired with tantalizing photos that show

the plethora of exciting and inspiring food that can be

prepared for little.

For too long discussions surrounding people of lower

socioeconomic status have centered around nutrition

and making do. This isn’t a typical budget cookbook,

nor is it a nutritional guide, it’s a collection of recipes

that happen to be inexpensive.

If you want a better life, filled with daily pleasures;

learn to cook. If you want to get control over a small

food budget; learn to cook. If you want a healthy body

and mind for yourself and your family; learn to cook.

The recipes are made with simple and inexpensive ingredients (pennies per serving), but the variety is a thing of beauty and substitutions are encouraged. There are ideas in here that I've just dying to try -- and I think you should too!

It's 126 pages of cheap but nutritious eats for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, dessert, soup, salad, handhelds, drinks, big batch, and sauces and flavors.

Sampling the breakfast: Banana pancakes, cheddar jalapeno scones, Oatmeal (coconut and lime, berry, pumpkin, apple cinnamon, savory, baklava!).

A bit of small bites includes: polenta fries, spicy green beans, poutine, and mexican street corn.

Perhaps for dinner you might try the Creamy Zucchini Fettuccine, Shrimp and Grits, perogies, or Chana Masala?

Wash it down with some Agua Fresca and a refreshing homemade melon sorbet for dessert.

Mmm, that's the stuff. Whatcha waiting for?